ORACLE&PHP&APache on Linux7.1

Anon

Hello,

I'm a newbie to working with oracle and php. My experience has only been with MySQL.
I'm doing a fresh install of Apache and PHP and I need to know what I need to do so it will work with oracle. I cannot find a definitive source of info about this. I would like for it to connect using the native support, not through ODBC. Additionally, the Oracle install is housed on a seperate server(AIX) so I would need to be able to connect to it "remotely"?
Thanks in advance for your help!

Anon

My Bad! Red Hat Linux 7.1!

Anon

Hi Carson,

First, you need access to the remote server. For sure, installing Oracle on RH 7.1 is not an easy task (at least wasn't for me). I can help you, let me know.

Let me concentrate on php. If you are using the original rh 7.1 rpms, they have no oci8 support compiled in. Of course, you can deinstall all the php packages an build it from sources. There is another way: install php, php-devel and php-sources rpms. As root:

cd /usr/src/redhat/SOURCES

tar xfz php-4.0.4pl1.tar.gz

cd php-4.0.4pl1/ext/oci8

export ORACLE_HOME=your_oracle_home

vi oci8.c

Insert...

#include "php_config.h"

...before the #include "php.h"

phpize

./configure

make all

Now you have a new oci8.so extension.

cp modules/oci8.so /usr/lib/php4

vi /etc/php.ini

... remove the leading ; from
;extension=oci8.so

/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart

Remember, your scripts must include...

putenv("ORACLE_HOME=your_oracle_home")

...before any oci8 function call.

AAAdios

Anon

Thanks,
Although I seen other articles and such that seem to indicate it might actually be better overall to use the sources and install from there since the RPM is not very flexible or at least makes it a little more difficult to set all of this up with the options I would like. Additionally I noticed that when installed with the RPM from RH7.1 I can't even locate the apachectl command and have to use the httpd instead.
My first question of you is:
Do I have to install the client stuff on my web server (I already have ORACLE installed and running on a different server) or can I just reference the oracle home directory on my remote(within my network)ORACLE server when I configure php using the --with-oci8 command?

Anon

When you compile the oci8 module, it links against the oracle client libraries, then you need an Oracle for Linux client installation on your web server because your oracle server was an AIX, isn't it?

AAAdiós

Anon

If you want compile PHP with --with-oci8 option. You must to install Oracle client for Linux on the same machine.

After you can compile php with --with-oci8=path to oci libraries

Before first connect from php to oracle you must edit tnsnames.ora and add this:

SID_OF_ORACLE_SERVER.world =
(DESCRIPTION=(address_list=
(ADDRESS=IPADDRESS_OF_ORACLE_SERVER
(PROTOCOL=tcp)(PORT=1610)(HOST=CM_SERVER))
(ADDRESS=IPADDRESS_OF_ORACLE_SERVER
(PROTOCOL=tcp)(PORT=1521)(HOST=LSNR_SERVER)))
(CONNECT_DATA=(SID=SID_OF_ORACLE_SERVER))
(SOURCE_ROUTE=yes)
)

Anon

we are running RD7.1 with apache1.3.19 and php.4 and sun server with orcacle 8i.

do i need the client for oracle or with the oci8.so do it.

thank you